3 Classic Rock Stars Who Didn’t Care What Their Audience Wanted

Just about every songwriter and musician out there knows the universal truth about art. You have to make it authentic and not what you think people want. The following three classic rock stars certainly took that notion to heart and seemed like they really didn’t care what their audience wanted. And, in turn, they dished out amazing songs that are still loved today.

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Kurt Cobain

Nirvana’s legendary frontman Kurt Cobain is the poster child for lists like these. Though, in a way, Cobain did care about what his audience wanted in the sense that he started out making music for people like him: angry youths who felt like outcasts. When Nevermind became a mainstream hit, he noticed the very “jocks” who made him miserable in school showing up in droves to Nirvana’s shows. When the time came to put together In Utero, Cobain wanted to make sure the normies were turned off and the true fans got authentic Nirvana. Songs like “Milk It” and “Serve The Servants” are just a few songs that made that clear.

Pete Townshend

Pete Townshend didn’t expect The Who to become as big as they did. So when their first handful of albums became huge mainstream hits, no one was likely more surprised than the band’s principal songwriter. He could have easily just dished out uncreative albums that pandered to the masses for quick cash once The Who started getting big internationally. Instead, he put out incredibly creative and loaded albums like Tommy and Who’s Next. The latter of which boasts the song “Won’t Get Fooled Again”, which has one of the most poignant messages of any 1970s song ever.

John Lennon

John Lennon is basically a shoo-in on our list of classic rock stars who didn’t care what their audience wanted. He was an amazing songwriter, one who could write a hit like it was easy. When The Beatles came to an end in 1970 and Lennon kicked off his solo career, it was quite clear that he had no interest in putting out any music that wasn’t exactly what he wanted to make. He dished out avant-garde music with his wife, Yoko Ono, and a lot of Beatles fans weren’t happy. That didn’t stop the majority of his solo studio records from hitting the Top 40 in the US and UK.

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